From the best of both worlds: When Traditional Hungarian Cuisine merges with Multicultural Canadian Home Cooking. Recipes from the best of Hungarian and Canadian home cooking adapted to North American food sources - we have gone metric in Canada, but we won’t let go of our measuring cup

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12.2.16

BURGER BUNS

What kind of bun is this? It’s a hamburger bun. This is no
hamburger bun she said. True enough, this bun is way too amazing to be a
hamburger bun. I am making them again today; Liv took the trial buns home last
night.

“Most commercial burger buns are extremely soft compared to
other breads. That's because commercial bakers make liberal use of dough
conditioners that help to emulsify ingredients, enhance the fermentation
process, yield uniform products, and tenderize the crumb.” Source

If softness you are after this is the perfect recipe. It all
started with the inner child hankering after a hamburger bun from the
past. They used to be soft and didn’t crumble and didn’t taste
like sawdust. I barely turned eighteen, not yet an adult under Canadian law back in
1967. One of the first things my immigrant palate enjoyed was a hamburger at the
AW drive-in. The attendant brought this long tray that span the front of our
car resting on the half-open windows and well you know the rest.

I use instant yeast that requires no proofing. The water
should be warm but not hot. Hot water kills the yeast. All the
ingredients should be at room temperature; otherwise, rising could take up to
two hours or more. Preplanning is not my strong
suit, but strategising is, so I revised Domestic Dreamboat’s recipe. The dough is
on the stiff side and to make it easier to handle, the last cup of flour should
be added very gradually, much like when making challah. The buns will still be
lovely and soft at the end. Knead the dough smooth and very, very elastic. If
you have to knead by hand, there is a trick to soften up the dough. Lift it up
and throw it down on the counter 100 times. Beating up the dough softens it and
makes it pliable. The second rising should not take longer than 40 minutes. I
let one batch to double during the second rising and the buns were a bit too
fluffy for my taste.

Burger Buns

1 cup lukewarm water

3 Tbsp butter, melted

2 Tbsp heavy cream

1 egg

2-1/2 cups + 1 cup flour

2 Tbsp white sugar

2-1/2 tsp instant yeast

1 tsp salt

melted butter for greasing

For the Egg Wash:

1 egg

1 Tbsp milk

sesame seeds for topping

In a
2-cup measuring cup, place 1 cup of lukewarm water.

Melt
the butter and add 2 Tbsp of melted butter to the lukewarm water. Stir.

Add
the heavy cream and the egg and whisk together. Set aside.

Place
2-1/2 cups of flour in a large bowl.

Add
the yeast, salt and the sugar and whisk to combine.

Add
the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and stir to combine.

Gradually
1/4 cup at the time, knead in the remaining flour. The dough will be
stiff.

Kneed
the dough until elastic; if the dough is too stiff, throw it down on the
counter 100 times. It will still have resistance but will be pliable
enough to knead.

Grease
a large bowl with the remaining butter, put the dough in, and turn it
over.

Cover
the bowl with plastic wrap and set it to rise until doubled.

Line
a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Punch
the dough down and roll it into a thick log.

Divide
into 12 equal pieces.

Form
into balls. Press the balls down with the palm of your hand into disks, to
about 1 inch height.

Place
the disks on the prepared baking sheet.

In a
small bowl whisk together 1 egg with 1 Tbsp of milk.

Brush
the tops with the egg wash.

Sprinkle
the tops with sesame seeds.

Let
the buns rise for 40 minutes.

Preheat
the oven to 375F.

Place
the buns in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the tops
are golden and the bottoms are lightly browned. These buns are best when
they could still bake a bit longer.

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me

It began with posting a few recipes on line for my family. "zsuzsa is in the kitchen" has more than 1000 Hungarian and International recipes. What started out as a private project turned into a well visited blog. The number of visitors long passed the two million mark. I organized my recipes into an on-line cookbook. On top of the page click on the cookbook to access the recipes. I am not profiting from my blog, so my visitors will not be harassed with advertising or flashy gadgets. Feel free to cut and paste my recipes for your own use. Publication is permitted as long as it is in your own words and with your own photographs. However, I would ask you for an acknowledgement and link-back to my blog. This is to my old on-line friends and visitors: policing the comment section for spam and answering questions has become a chore. Good wishes to you all, happy cooking and keep on feeding your people with good food.